The first testicular guard, the 'cup', was used in hockey in 1874.The first helmet was used in 1974.

It only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is important...too.

To be fair, those are hockey players you're talking about

Chicken-or-the-egg: Do they play hockey because they are that way or are they that way because they play hockey? Besides...doesn't everyone play hockey? ( <- that's culture shock being manifested there)

In France it is punishable by up to ten years in prison for a winemaker to deliberately misrepresent the alcohol content of a bottle of wine. They take this so seriously that a government official must visit each vineyard and certify the amount of alcohol in wine to within hundreds of a percentage point. The officials who do the certification must go through one of the most rigorous bonding processes in French law, more rigorous than that of a judge, doctor, or police officer. To attempt to bribe one or these officials is punishable by jail time roughly on the same level as that given to housebreakers.

"Harlequin ichthyosis is a severe genetic disorder that mainly affects the skin. Infants with this condition are born with very hard, thick skin covering most of their bodies. The skin forms large, diamond-shaped plates that are separated by deep cracks (fissures). These skin abnormalities affect the shape of the eyelids, nose, mouth, and ears, and limit movement of the arms and legs. Restricted movement of the chest can lead to breathing difficulties and respiratory failure.

The skin normally forms a protective barrier between the body and its surrounding environment. The skin abnormalities associated with harlequin ichthyosis disrupt this barrier, making it more difficult for affected infants to control water loss, regulate their body temperature, and fight infections. Infants with harlequin ichthyosis often experience an excessive loss of fluids (dehydration) and develop life-threatening infections in the first few weeks of life. It used to be very rare for affected infants to survive the newborn period. However, with intensive medical support and improved treatment, people with this disorder now have a better chance of living into childhood and adolescence."http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/harlequin-ichthyosis

The Harlequin Fetus disease disturbs me the most out of all of the things that disturbs me.

I am NOT posting an image of a victim of this rare disease. It's f**ked up man, really f**ked up.

I was introduced to it through Malady of the Month, used to read Morbid Fact du Jour quite a bit. Avoid reading about anencephaly, it is also rather unfortunate.

While there is not historical proof of such, it seems like that William Shakespeare was involved in one, since he married at the relatively young age of 18. Then, like now, most 18-year-olds were not considered old enough to support a wife and family at that age.

That is odd enough, but even odder is that his wife, Anne Hathaway, was believed to be his senior by 8 or 9 years, when they were married in 1582. Now, that would raise eyebrows, if not get the law after the woman, and then, while that age difference would not be that great if the bride was 18 and the groom was 26 or 27, but to have a teenage groom marry a woman that much older . . . ?

But, what is oddest is that their daugher, Susanna, was born only 6 months after the wedding. Either the girl was born 3 months prematurely, which is doubtful, for she would not have survived, being born that early, or Will and Anne were going hot and heavy at least 3 months before their marriage.

Which makes me wonder, if Shakespeare did not identify to some extent with Romeo from Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet," as Romeo is believed to have married Juliet, when he was still in his teens.

Fact: There is hardly a human sexual activity that is not mimiced by other animals.

Teenage esxplorationdolphinsSome sexually immature male dolphins will form sexual partnerships until such time they become sexually mature. Whereupon, they'll start chasing girl dolphins.

StepparentingflamingosSometimes when a female dolphin rejects one of her eggs, it'll be taken away from her and sometimes given to two male flamingos who live together. Who'll then hatch the egg and raise the chick just as if it was their own chick.

Situational homosexualityseagullsSometimes when there is a shortage of male seagulls, two female seagulls we'll take up living together. With one acting as the male in the partnership, and one acting as the female in the partnership.

Sexual pleasurebonobosAbout 75% of the sex acts performed by bonobos in the wild are not for procreation, but for the simple reason that they enjoy having sex with each other.

RapingchimpsMale chimps in the wild have been noted raping other male chimps that were smaller and weaker.

LesbianismJapanese macaquesFemale Japanese macaques have been seen in the wild sexually pleasuring each other.

HomosexualityostrichesWhile alot of same sex is due to the shortage of one opposite sex or the other, some ostriches are apparently born gay. Even when there is a surplus of female ostriches, they'll only court other male ostriches.

Dominance-submissiondeerSometimes an older buck will take an younger buck under its wing. Whereupon, the younger submissive buck will allow himself to be mounted by the older dominant buck.

BisexualitybonobosApparently, most bonobos are bisexual in nature.

"Tales of the Weird: Unbelievable True Stories" from the "National Geographic" website and other sources.

Next time: "Yo, Mama. There were some tough mamas back in the days of yore."